The present invention relates to a leading-edge slat for an aircraft wing, an aircraft wing for use with or including such a slat and an aircraft including such a wing.
Leading-edge slats on aircraft wings are known to be aerodynamically beneficial. In particular, by delaying the onset of stall on the wing, leading-edge slats tend to allow an aircraft to be flown at higher angles of attack than could otherwise be achieved. On many aircraft wings, it is therefore desirable to have a leading-edge slat that extends as far as possible along the wing.
The part of a wing on which a slat is mounted tends to be significantly recessed to accommodate the slat. The spanwise extent of a leading-edge slat is often therefore restricted due to, for example, the presence of other structural elements (such as the engine pylon) which cannot accommodate such a recess, or by the need to house aircraft systems (such as de-icing equipment, hydraulics and/or electrics) which can require significant storage space in the region of the wing leading-edge. The parts of the wing that cannot accommodate the relatively large recess, and hence the slat, may be prone to suffering premature flow degradation and stall, relative to the other parts of the wing.
The design of the slat end-face(s), particularly on swept wings, may also be limited by the size of the aircraft wing structure that surrounds the slat end-face in use. Therefore the shape of the slat end-face(s) may not be as aerodynamically beneficial as is desirable.